fairfolio
Saved Projects
← Back to Explore

Innovative Biocomputational Approach to Decode the Secrets of the 2022 Monkeypox Resurgence

JSHS · 2023

Saathvik Kannan, Dr. Kamal Singh · David H. Hickman High School, Columbia, MO

Overview

In mid-2022, a new outbreak of Mpox circulated the world—this time with high infectiousness and transmissibility. In just six months, 30,000 cases were reported. As we recovered from COVID-19, fear of another pandemic heightened. Two fundamental questions emerged: What caused Mpox to increase its infectivity, and what structural changes might have contributed?; Will changes in the protein structure affect efficacy of drugs? Experimental studies can take years to answer these questions. By using biocomputational science, we get answers within weeks. A significant bottleneck was lack of basic three-dimensional protein structures for the Mpox replication complex, which makes copies of DNA. My investigation consisted of three objectives: (i) predicting structure of Mpox replication complex, (ii) identifying mutations in the virus that appeared in the outbreak, and (iii) identifying causative factors for increased transmissibility and effectiveness. I used a "lego-brick" approach to protein structure elucidation and developed advanced biocomputational tools for identifying mutational patterns. Among the five components of the minimal replication complex, ten mutations were observed. Two mutations, L108F and W411L, in DNA polymerase play a critical role. Notably, L108F in DNA polymerase protein (apparent only in current outbreak) increases binding affinity between protein and DNA. Both mutations could be crucial to the virus's infectivity. Further, I identified mutational regions in the Mpox virus that could confer resistance. Despite focusing on Mpox, the method and biocomputational model presented can be applied across many areas. Causative factors can be predicted using these methods for any such virus and, thus, future pandemics.

Competition history

  • JSHS 2023 Category not listed

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Source: Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google